ENERGY
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9v PROTEGE
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Conservative Judaism's mission of bal-
ancing tradition with modernity.
However, some teen Conservative
Jews — all of whom talked about rais-
ing their own children Conservative
— said that they mostly like their
movement specifically because they
find it a happy medium between the
Orthodox and Reform philosophies.
"Conservative Judaism is the right
movement for me because I like doing
some of the mitzvot, but Orthodoxy
doesn't give you enough freedom and
your life becomes too centered around
Judaism," said Zach Foster, an eighth-
grader at Hillel. "Judaism is important,
but there are other things in life, too."
Pam Feingold, a ninth-grader in
Adat Shalom's 200-student Monday
night high school program said,
"Some Reform people I talk to have
no idea what the religion is all about.
But Orthodoxy is too strict. I feel like
I'm right in the middle."
Asked how their generation of
Conservative Jews will be different
from their parents' generation, Adat
Shalom teens offered conflicting views,
with some saying they're more liberal
than their parents and others suggest-
ing they will be more observant.
Eighteen-year-old Ryan Vieder,
who took a few minutes out of a
kosher cooking class to be inter-
viewed, said he expects Conservative
Judaism to become less stringent.
Asked if his generation of
Conservative Jews differs from its
elders on the subject of intermarriage,
Vieder said, "Most kids don't think it's
that big a problem as long as you stay
who you are. You should teach your
child to enjoy the good parts of both
religions and they can make a decision
when they're old enough."
Vieder's classmate in the kitchen,
Leah Weiss, 17, said that while she
would not marry a non-Jew, many of
her peers "see it as discrimination to
say they would only marry a Jew.
Of course, some of the disconnect
between Conservative Jewish teens
and their parents may have less to do
with permanent differences of opinion
than the natural tendency of adoles-
cents to question their parents' beliefs.
"Teens are more liberal and verbal
about questioning religion than when
our parents were growing up, when
there was less opportunity to ques-
tion," noted Weiss.
Conservatives To Come
Joey Abrin, 14, held a different
There is no consensus as to where
view. "My generation gets into it and
Detroit's Conservative Movement will
pays more attention than my parents'
be in the next 20 years, although most
generation — we'll be more obser-
rabbis anticipate congregants who are
vant," he said. P1
educated and committed to
encourage more Jews to marry gen-
tiles, Conservative rabbis made it clear
that not only would they not officiate
at weddings between a Jew and non-
Jew, but that unless they converted,
gentile partners could not become
synagogue members.
The result: interfaith families, who
represent a growing percentage of the
Jewish community, are shying away
from Conservative Judaism and
reporting they feel more comfortable
in Reform temples.
The movement recently issued a
paper forbidding Conservative syna-
gogues to hire intermarried Jews as
educators or synagogue directors.
Nonetheless, the anti-intermarried
stance in the movement may be soft-
ening a little, at least in Detroit.
This fall, rabbis from all of the sub-
urban Detroit Conservative synagogues
attended a Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit symposium on
intermarriage. A session focusing on
how Conservative synagogues could
welcome interfaith families was
packed, with several rabbis there pas-
sionately stating that they did not want
to turn away the intermarried Jews.
Noting that many non-Jewish
spouses are choosing to become •
Jewish, Beth Shalom's Nelson noted,
"I don't rail against intermarriage. I
don't support it, but we have to make
it comfortable for couples to come to
synagogue and see what Judaism has
),
to offer.
Although, as at other Conservative
shuls, non-Jews cannot officially
become members there or participate in
ritual activities, Shaarey Zedek recently
began welcoming in its newsletter both
the Jewish and non-Jewish spouse when
interfaith families join. In the past, only
the Jewish spouse was listed.
"Until recently, the Conservative
Movement did a terrible job of reach-
ing out to the intermarried," said
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, who was
ordained just last year. A newcomer to
Shaarey Zedek, Krakoff has been
active in developing adult education
courses and programs targeting
younger members there and has
quickly developed a following.
"There's a need to make the inter-
married feel welcome in our syna-
gogues," he added.
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